Seeing Red: PCA must finish offensive drives

By SKIP LEON Skip.Leon@hearstnp.com

Published 8:47 am, Thursday, October 8, 2015

Photo: Skip Leon/Plainview Herald

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Plainview Christian Academy running back Tyler Culwell is lifted into the air as he's tackled by a pair of Lorenzo defenders during a game earlier this season. The Eagles will host Lazbuddie at 5 p.m. Friday in their homecoming game. less

Plainview Christian Academy running back Tyler Culwell is lifted into the air as he's tackled by a pair of Lorenzo defenders during a game earlier this season. The Eagles will host Lazbuddie at 5 p.m. Friday in ... more

Photo: Skip Leon/Plainview Herald

Seeing Red: PCA must finish offensive drives

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The Plainview Christian Academy football team has spent a lot of time with the ball in the red zone this season, yet has very little to show for their ability to move the ball deep into the opponent’s territory.

Head coach Lucas Hall is hoping that changes Friday when the Eagles host Lazbuddie in their homecoming game. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

PCA is winless in five games, despite showing some positive signs. This week, victory or defeat could hinge on their ability to get into the end zone when they have the opportunities.

“We’ve got to finish our drives,” Hall said. “The last two games, every time we’ve had the ball we’ve put it in the red zone and only scored three times.”

Hall said there could be some changes in an attempt to finish off drives.

“We’re looking at some different packages, putting some guys in different places so we can get that done once we get into the red zone,” Hall said.

The coach said that his team has the physical tools to score touchdowns. But there’s a mental component they must have to get into the end zone.

“It comes down to how bad you want it and what you’ve got inside you,” Hall said. “We’re getting there. I think we’re going to be all right. I like to see that our offense is moving the ball pretty well. It’s finishing our blocks. It’s knowing exactly where to go. We get confused every once in a while. And that’s going to happen, especially with some of the younger guys. They get confused on what exactly we need.”

In Lazbuddie, Hall said, the Eagles will see an offense that will line up in a spread formation. But that doesn’t mean they’ll pass the ball a majority of the time. He said they’ll run and pass out of the formation.

“It’s a lot of what we saw last week, to some extent,” Hall said. PCA lost at Wilson, 49-21, last Friday. “(Wilson) tried to spread it out some and then they kind of abandoned that and went just to that J-back set.”

Hall said he has seen Lazbuddie run a 3-3 defensive alignment on film. But he expects them also to load up on the defensive line, which teams have done with success against the Eagles this year.

“I know they’ve watched film from when we played Lorenzo, so I imagine they’ll run a 4-2 as well. I would expect to see that from here on out,” Hall said.

Hall said his team welcomes the challenge of playing against a 4-2 defense.

“That’s the only way teams have been able to stop our run game,” Hall said. “If you want to have a good play-action game, you’ve got to have a good running game. If we can hit them with the run at first, then maybe we can start throwing it over their head.”

Hall said most of PCA’s 10-man roster are capable receivers.

“Jared Ortega and Brant Walker are our receivers,” Hall said. “But you’ll see Tyler Culwell catch the ball (out of the backfield). (Running back) Konner Smith can catch the ball. You can even look at (linemen) Jesus Ortiz and Matt Horan coming from center. That’s what we’re going to try to do. Pretty much anybody that’s on the team has a pass route. You just never know what you’re going to see.”

That gives the Eagles a lot of versatility. They will be bolstered this week by the return of Culwell, who sat out last week’s game due to illness.

Hall said practices have been good and his team is looking forward to playing at home for the second time this season. And it will be in front of a homecoming crowd.

“I think they’re ready for the game,” Hall said. “Practice has been pretty good so far. And the nice thing is you’ve pretty much got your entire squad back. With the exception of Alex (Moreno, knee injury) you’ve got everybody out here practicing. That helps quite a bit.

“Everybody’s been pretty excited. You’ve got homecoming week. In school, each day has a different theme to it. We’ll have our Black Out pep rally Thursday night. And we’ll have our team dinner Thursday.”

Hall said he wants his team to play physical on both sides of the ball.

Speaking of the keys for the offense in the red zone, Hall said, “The main thing is to come out and try to move the line of scrimmage back. The line has done a pretty good job. We’ve had some problems with backs hitting the hole. They like to dance around a little bit. We’ve got to finish drives. We’ve got to do the little things right.”

Hall wants his defense to play fast and physical, as well.

“Defensively, we’ve got to come up and hit people,” Hall said. “We did a lot better on defense this last game. The ends did a good job. The linebackers did a good job filling the holes. We were doing a lot of good things.”

The coach also is hoping his team can score early against Lazbuddie. With all their trips into the red zone against Wilson, they could have built a 21-0 lead. Instead, they got just one touchdown on their first three offensive possessions.

“If we can get out and score early, we tend to play better,” Hall said. “It’s just the little stuff. It’s coming along.”